Rising (Swe / Vänersborg) - Inside the Universe [CD] (2017)

Heavy Metal

Remastered sound, lyrics, rare photos and killer artwork, everything packed in a deluxe 16-page booklet.
Also released on black and orange vinyl [Cult Metal Classics #CULTMETALRISNWLP].

This record is dedicated to the memory of Urban Svensson (1964-1992). All royalties received by Rising for this record goes to the cancer foundation.

1. Inside the Universe (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec., originally released on the 'Just One Bite' tape).
2. Metal Bird (recorded at Pahrda Studio Stockholm, originally released as a single)
3. She's Got Bright Eyes (recorded at Pahrda Studio Stockholm, originally rerleased as a single)
4. The Show Is Over (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec., originally released on the 'Just One Bite' tape)
5. Long Long Way (recorded live, originally released on the 'Just One Bite' tape)
6. Searching for the Past (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec., originally released on the 'Just One Bite' tape)
7. Midnight Lover (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec., originally released on the 'Just One Bite Tape)
8. The Wind is Crying (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec., outtake from the 'Just One Bite' tape, previously unreleased)
9. Rock in the Blood (recorded at Ljudspåret Gothenburg, previously unreleased)
10. On the Road to Freredom (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec, previously unreleased)
11. Never Listen to Fools (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec., outtake from the 'Just One Bite' tape, previously unreleased)
12. Bright Eyes (recorded at Studio Voice Track Rec, previously unreleased)
13. After the Rain (recorded at Stfr Studios, previously unreleased)

Biography
There once was a hard rocking group called RISING. Five young guys dedicated to making music from the heart and from the times, the rolling 1980’s! This was of course the time of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and mighty bands like Iron Maiden, Angelwitch, Motorhead, Saxon, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Tank and others making a huge splash in little old Sweden and in the minds of the boys in RISING. Urban Svensson on guitar, Paul Utter on vocals, Peter Andersson on bass, Magnus Svensson on guitar and Lars Berger on drums absorbed all the new music and included older influences in the shape of Deep Purple, Rainbow, Motorhead, Led Zeppelin. This melting pot in the form of the rehearsal space where they almost spent more time than at home moulded these five people in to a tight combo determined to make their own music and unknowingly being a integral part of what in hindsight becam the New Wave Of Swedish Heavy Metal.

Rising was formed by Lars Berger and the first guitarist Dag Eriksson. Peter Andersson soon followed and he knew of this hot shot guitar player named Urban Svensson that was soon hi-jacked from his previous group. Urban Svensson had a brother called Magnus that was trried out for singer duties but as Dag was pursuing other musical interests he was replaced on guitar by Magnus and for a while Urban and Magnus shared both singing and guitar work. Urban, Peter and Magnus were promising talents in soccer and ice hockey, but soon ditched sports for music, this being an all consuming activity of the brain and body. Thinking about music, creating music and reharsing all together and individually thus improvin their musical skills and being made aware of thei own talent created ballsy young men confident in their own abilities. The first studio recording for Rising was "On the Road to Freedom" featuring Urban Svensson and Magnus Svensson on vocals. Shortly thereafter Paul Utter was recruited as the singer for the band and the classic line-up of Rising was in place. The single 'Metal Bird / She's Got Bright Eyes' was recorded in Pahrda Studio in Stockholm and released on Pan Records.

Determined to do better Rising began recording what would become their magnum opus, the 'Just One Bite' tape. No stone was unturned to produce the ultimate Rising vehicle for world domination. Heroes in their hometown and never forgetting the love from the home turf Rising however wanted more and glanced at the bigger picture of Sweden, England and the world!. Much time was spent bombarding record companies both in person and by mail with cassette tapes leaving the Rising headquarters (aka the Svensson family house!) by the bus loads. Rising also tried to get gigs abroad, escpecially at the prestigious Marquee club in London, as a gig there seemed like an express way to the stars and guaranteed road to the top of success!. Rising did obtain some level of fame and fortune, but not as big as they had anticipated, aspired and worked for. A major record deal fell through at the last minute, leaving the band both inspired and disappointed. Fanzines from all over the world featured Rising and kept the momentum going and the boys hard at work. Writing new material, rehearsing and recorded was the focus throughout that first half of the 1980's. Playing live was always fun and Rising even got to perform abrouad when they visited Copenhagen for a one off gig.

The hard work ever the years however took a toll on the five guys and cracks began to appear. Paul the singer was let go and never replaced though several singers were tried and tested both live and in the studio. Peter the bassplayer was sacked and later reinstalled again. Disagreements over direction musically made Lars and Magnus quit the band in 1985. New people came on board and a new kind of Rising continued down a different avenue until Urban Svensson died in 1992 putting a stop to the band as he had been a driving musical force all along. The passion that produced these recordings has kept glowing through the years and an interest in Rising has made this record possible. It is with grreat pride and loving care that we present the album 'Inside the Universe' by Rising - Lars Berger

Lennart Notes
For me Rising from Vänersborg, which started in 1980, has always been the best Swedish band that never released an album. I wanted to do something about that - albeit posthumously. In 2000, after the "Power from the North - Sweden Rocks the World" album had been released, I contacted Lars Berger, who played drums with them between 1980 and 1985, and expressed my idea of released a compilation with material that covered the years up until 1985, which in my book were their golden years. At that time, I had known Lars for quite a few years so I knew there was a lot of recorded material that deserved to end up on an album. Lars liked the idea and plans were made. Unfortunately, the project encountered some problems along the way and for various reasons there was no record - at that time. Now I am all the happier to note that the album will finally see the light of day, even if it is not me who releases it, and people will get the chance to hear what a great band Rising were!

I first heard about Rising in 1982, when they played at the Baldersnäs Festival in Dals Långed where I live. However, I did not attend the festival myself. Why I do not remember, but I suspect it had something to do with the fact that I didn''t want to meet some former band members from bands I had previously played with. My brother, however, was there and he came home with a copy of their single 'Metal Bird / She's Got Bright Eyes', which was released by the, in Sweden, infamous record label Pang Records. Today it is a much sought after record for those who have really good taste. My brother also told me that Rising was a really great live band!

The first time I saw Rising live myself was on their Long Way Tour in Septemberr 1983 when they played in Åmål. I was extremly impressed! therefore, it was obvious that Rising would be the first band in the "Sweden in Fight" department in the first issue of the fanzine Heavy Metal Massacre I released a month later. WHen I put HMM to sleep a year later (after four issues) I continued to write for a bunch of foreign magazines/fanzines for more than five years (before in 1989 I started the magazine Backstage, but that's a whole different story). I think I wrote about Rising in most of those magazines.

I saw Rising a few more times over the next 1½ years - in metropoles like Ed, Karsefors and Frändefors. The show in Ed was probably the gig where the band impressed me the most, while their participation at the Karsefors festival was the most memorable gig, mostly because of things other than the music. I have a strong memory of the sound engineer, who was friends with the festival's headline act (they were hometown heroes), doing everrything he could to ruin Rising's sound. As if that was not enough, the bands mini-bus broke down and their roadie fell off the stage and injured his back. I promised that I would drive them to their accommodation. However, I couldn't fit all the band members in my car in one go so I had to make two journeys. Unfortunately, I have no sense of direction so, after I dropped the first ones off, I managed to get lost when I drove back to pick up the remaining members. In the middle of the night I ended up in a forest where the road ended. That was really creepy! this was in an age when nobody had heard about mobile phones. Fortunately, I managed to find my way back to pick up the remaining members.

Rising recorded some demos over the years. The most famous, and probably the best one as well, was 'Just One Bite', which came out in 1984. It contained five songs: "Midnight Lover", "Inside the Universe", "Searching for the Past", "The Show is Over" and "Long, Long Way (Live)". It showed the five members Paul Utter (vocals), Urband Svensson (guitar), Magnus Svensson (guitar), Peter "Lato" Andersson (bass) and Lars Berger (drums) from their best side. It was consistently strong songs with good vocals and an energy and drive that impressed. Add tto that the Svensson's brothers tasteful and for the time typical dual guitars. It was a winning combination. With that demo the band worked hard to find a record label that wanted to sign them. However, they had no real luck. They were more or less promised to be one of the bands on the 'Scandinavian Metal Attack III' compilation. The only problem was that there never was any Volume III.

The last show I saw with Rising was on June 11 1985 in Frändefors. Then the original singer Paul had just left the band. If I remember correctly, it was their first gig without him. Although Rising continued to play together for at least five years this show was the beginning of the end for the classic line-up of the band and the musical direction - classic heavy metal - the band had had until then. Right after the show, I went post-haste to Bengtsfors to be able to see Europe play in Folkets Park. It was more or less a year before they took the world by storm with "The Final Countdown". Rising unfortunately never reached the same level of success but with the CD/LP 'Inside the Universe' many more will get the chance to listen to and enjoy their contribution to the Swedish hard rock history. For me personally, the disc is one long nostalgic trip - back to a time when both I and the Swedish heavy metal scene were young. In my book Rising was without doubt one of Sweden's brightest stars. Now that there finally is an album available I will play it to death!. R.I.P. Urband - Lennart "Phantom" Larsson

Thanklist: The Svensson family (Siv, Bengt, Andreas and of course our c/o cat Charles), The Utter family, The Andersson family, The Berger family, The Vänersborg fans (none forgotten), Lennart Larsson, Trazan, Per Andersson, Håkan, Janne B, Jonas T, Hans G, Leif Andersson, Jan N, The Ekdahl brothers, Marie, Torbjörn, Martin, Stellan Ström, Thomas Edgren, Anna, Åsa, Camilla - the angel choir, Dag Eriksson for starting Rising together with Lars, Janne Stark, Annike Sundbaum-Melin, Erik "Tott", all the global fanzines that helped spread the word in the 1980's.

Cult Metal Classics would like to thank Lars Berger and Janne Stark for their precious helpt with the project. You rule brothers!.